Nigeria’s former Minister of Petroleum Resources and the first female president of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been cleared of bribery charges in the United Kingdom, according to a statement issued by her defence lawyers on Wednesday.

“Diezani Alison-Madueke was cleared of six charges of bribery at Southwark Crown Court on 17 June 2026, after a five-month trial,” defence lawyer Jonathan Laidlaw said in a press statement.

The trial was initiated by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), which tackles serious organised and international crime, following a years-long investigation into alleged offences said to have occurred between 2011 and 2015.

Addressing the jury at the London court in January, Laidlaw argued that there had been a “gross delay” in bringing the charges, resulting in the loss of “a great deal of material which would have established her innocence”.

Alison-Madueke had been accused of accepting “financial or other advantages” from individuals linked to two energy companies that secured contracts with Nigeria’s state-owned petroleum corporation while she served as oil minister.

Prosecutors also alleged that she enjoyed a “life of luxury” financed by individuals with interests in lucrative oil and gas contracts.

According to the prosecution, her lifestyle included chauffeur-driven vehicles, a private jet trip to Nigeria, and refurbishment works, as well as staff costs, at several London properties.

Her defence team maintained that records capable of proving her innocence had “disappeared”, adding that she no longer had access to documents kept at her home in Nigeria because British authorities had retained her passport since her initial arrest 11 years ago.

Alison-Madueke served as president of OPEC between 2014 and 2015 and has been involved in several legal proceedings across different jurisdictions, including the United States.

She has remained on bail in Britain since her arrest in October 2015. In 2023, she was formally charged with accepting bribes, allegations she consistently denied.

According to prosecutors, she maintained a British address during the period in which the alleged offences were committed.